Online edition changes Monday

Digital subscriptions will return to The Dispatch website Monday, requiring customers to create a user identification and password in registering.

Since the end of 2012, The Dispatch has been offering online readers free access to all content posted online. The registration process will include limited personal data, agreement to terms of use and subscription, and allow for access throughout the site, including to the e-edition.

Home delivery customers will not pay extra for online access, but will need to establish registration. There are no carryovers from the previous pay wall. Customers who had online access before the pay wall came down last year will have to go through the registration process.

All questions, or requests for technical assistance, should be directed to the Circulation Department by phone at (252) 436-2800, or through email marked “web help” at circulation@hendersondispatch.com.

The Dispatch office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

“The lengthy period of free access to the full website came with our switchover to a new web host last fall,” said James Edwards, publisher of The Dispatch. “As we worked out the kinks with the new site, we wanted our readers to have easy access.

“Since the period of free access began, website registration has not been required unless readers wanted to comment on our stories via our posting program.”

Edwards said the window of free content allowed customers to test The Dispatch’s offerings. Only a limited number of content items in the print edition do not appear in the online edition.

Advertising inserts and Sunday comics also do not appear online.

“The recent switch gave us the chance to have a more modern mobile site, too, as more readers turn to their smartphones and tablets to get their news,” Edwards said. “The Daily Dispatch’s website automatically converts to a mobile format that is easy to read on a computer, a tablet and a smartphone with the same content in all three formats.

“We encourage our readers to add to their print and electronic reading the additional fast-access to local news that we have added through other means. We can be found on Facebook at Facebook.com/hendersondispatch. For Twitter fans, we can deliver instant breaking news to cellphones through Twitter.com/daily_dispatch. We are also expanding to LinkedIn and Google+.”

Edwards thanked the customers and advertisers who support the newspaper.

“We are dedicated to providing the most complete coverage of local news possible,” Edwards said.